Limit supply teaching further

Union turns back on province, Aug. 14

The Ontario government decision to “limit retired teachers to a maximum of 50 days per year of supply teaching, down from 95 days,” is not enough to have the positive effect Education Minister Laurel Broten claims.

To give new teachers more access to long-term and daily occasional positions, retired teachers with full pensions should be limited to 20 school days per year at large, urban public school boards.

Due to an obscure rule, the 50-day limit is really a 69-day limit. The regulation, which Ms Broten did not mention, allows pensioned teachers who work their last “allowed” day at the beginning of a school month to continue to work all the rest of the school days in that month, without pension penalty.

Thus, most LTO and daily substitute positions will still go to retirees — who are heavily favoured by cronyism in the schools. That’s why the previous rule, a 20-day limit, should be the rule, period.

Otherwise young, immigrant and career substitutes are denied the income and experience they need to survive, and to advance in Ontario education. How is that good for education workers or for most taxpayers?